Johnson missed his second game in a row after slicing off the tip of the middle finger of his left hand against New Orleans. Brinkley was limited in practice last week with a groin injury. Both had been listed as questionable for Sunday's game.

Rookie Tyrann Mathieu replaced Johnson, while Daryl Washington returned from a four-game suspension to take the inside linebacker spot that Brinkley held in Washington's absence.

As expected, Carolina was without safety Quintin Mikell (ankle) and defensive tackle Dwan Edwards (hamstring). Robert Lester replaced Mikell and Colin Cole started in place of Edwards.